If your office is a cold, dark cave, chances are you're not working as productively as you could be. The Buffer blog explains the science of how temperature and lighting affect our brains, and what you can do to tweak your work environment for better productivity (even if you work in a large office beyond your control).

This probably won't come as a shock to you, but natural light trumps artificial or dim light. It's not just because natural lighting feels and looks better: Too much artificial or dim light makes us less alert by the evening, according to a study by scientist Mirjam Muench. Even worse, poor or artificial lighting makes us feel more stressed, thanks to the cortisol drops under those conditions.

Pointing to another study, Leo Widrich writes on Buffer that if the temperature is too low in your office, you're likely to make more mistakes than if you were working in a room with optimal temperature (77 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 25 degrees Celsius). So warmer is better than colder, but we've also previously seen that if it's too warm (over 77 degrees), productivity will drop as well.

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So what does this all mean and what can you do about it even if you can't control the temperature or light in your office? Buffer offers a few tips:

Wake up before the sun rises. Those extra hours in natural daylight can help stabilize your body's cortisol levels.

Use a small portable heater in your office.

They also recommend using lensed-indirect light instead of direct lighting for an almost daylight-like lighting environment, but I'm not sure you can control that in your office either. Full spectrum bulbs or lamps that mimic natural daylight might help, though.